Mathematical Symbols List in English

Mathematical symbols like the equal sign (‘=’), not equal sign (‘≠’), and approximately equal sign (‘≈’) are essential tools in understanding and communicating math. These symbols have specific names and meanings, making them useful in conversations and written English.

The reference covers key areas including a detailed list of mathematical symbols, images and examples of these math symbols. This structured approach will make it easier for you to learn and remember these important tools.

Mathematical Symbols List

Mathematical Symbols ListPin
Mathematical Symbols List – Created by 7ESL

Mathematics Symbols Words

  • Addition
  • Subtraction
  • Multiplication
  • Division
  • Plus-minus
  • Strict inequality
  • Equality
  • Inequation
  • Tilde
  • Congruence
  • Infinity
  • Inequality
  • Material equivalence
  • Material implication
  • Theta
  • Empty set
  • Triangle or delta
  • For all
  • Pi constant
  • Integral
  • Intersection
  • Union
  • Factorial
  • Therefore
  • Square root
  • Perpendicular
  • Exists
  • Line
  • Line segment
  • Ray
  • Right angle
  • Angle
  • Summation
  • Braces (grouping)
  • Brackets
  • Parentheses (grouping)
Math SymbolsPin
Math Symbols – Created by 7ESL

Math Symbols with Images and Examples

Learn these Math symbols with images, examples and video lessons to improve your Math vocabulary in English. 

Addition

AdditionPin

–  Read as: Plus/ Add

–  Example: “I have two apples, plus three more, so now I have five apples.” (2 + 3 = 5)

Subtraction

SubtractionPin

–  Read as: Minus

– Example: “Five minus one equals four.” (5 – 1 = 4)

Multiplication

Mathematical Symbols List in English 1Pin

–  Read as: TimesMultiplied by

– Example: “If you multiply 5 by 4, the result is 20.” (4 x 5 = 20)

Division

DivisionPin

–  Read as: Divided by

– Example: “If you divide 10 by 2, the result is 5.” (10 : 2 =5)

Plus-minus

Plus-minusPin

–  Read as: Plus or minus

– Example: “Six plus or minus three equals nine or three.” (6 ± 3 = 9 or 3)

Strict inequality

Strict inequalityPin

–  Read as: Is greater than

– Example: “If x is strictly greater than 3, we can write it as x > 3.”

Mathematical Symbols List in English 2Pin

–  Read as: Is less than

– Example: “If y is strictly less than 10, we can write it as y < 10.”

Equality

EqualityPin

–  Read as: Is equal to

– Example: “If the sum of 2 and 3 is equal to 5, we can write it as 2 + 3 = 5.”

Inequation

InequationPin

–  Read as: Is not equal to

– Example: “If y is not equal to 0, we can write it as y ≠ 0, which is an inequation.”

Tilde

TildePin

–  Read as: Is similar to

– Example: “π is similar to 3.14” (π ~ 3.14)

Congruence

CongruencePin

–  Read as: Is congruent to

– Example: “If triangle ABC is congruent to triangle DEF, we can write it as ABC ≅ DEF.”

Infinity

InfinityPin

–  Read as: Infinity

– Example: “The set of all natural numbers (1, 2, 3, …) goes on to infinity.”

Inequality

InequalityPin

–  Read as: Is greater than or equals

– Example: “If x is greater than or equal to 5, we can write it as x ≥ 5”

InequalityPin

–  Read as: Is less than or equals

– Example: “If y is less than or equal to 10, we can write it as y ≤ 10”

Material equivalence

Material equivalencePin

–  Read as: Is equivalent to

– Example: “If a + b ⇔ c, we can say that a + b is equivalent to c.”

Material implication

Material implicationPin

–  Read as: Implies

– Example: “If x > 5 ⇒ x + 2 > 7, we can say that if x is greater than 5, implies that x + 2 is greater than 7.”

Theta

ThetaPin

–  Read as: Theta

– Example: The symbol Theta (θ) is commonly used to represent an angle in a geometric figure or in trigonometry.

Empty set

Empty setPin

–  Read as: Empty set

– Example:

Let A = {x | x is an even number greater than 10} and B = {x | x is an odd number less than 5}.

What is A ∩ B, the intersection of sets A and B?

Since B is the empty set (∅), there are no elements in common between A and B. Therefore, A ∩ B is also the empty set (∅).

Triangle or delta

Triangle or deltaPin

–  Read as: Triangle/ Delta

– Example: “The Greek letter delta (Δ) is often used to represent the area of a triangle, where Δ = 1/2 base x height.”

For all

For allPin

–  Read as: For all

– Example: “For all positive integers n, the sum of the first n odd numbers is equal to n². This statement means that if we add up the first n odd numbers (1, 3, 5, …), the result will always be equal to n², and it holds true for every positive integer n.”

Pi constant

Pi constantPin

–  Read as: Pi

– Example: “The number π (pi) is a mathematical constant that represents the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.”

Integral

IntegralPin

–  Read as: Integral

– Example: “The integral of the function f(x) = x² from 0 to 1 represents the area under the curve of the function between x = 0 and x = 1, and it is equal to 1/3.”

Intersection

IntersectionPin

–  Read as: Intersection of two sets

– Example: “If A = {1, 2, 3, 4} and B = {3, 4, 5, 6}, then the intersection of A and B is {3, 4}, since these are the only elements that are in both sets. We can write this as A ∩ B = {3, 4}.”

Union

UnionPin

–  Read as: Union of two sets

– Example: “If A = {1, 2, 3, 4} and B = {3, 4, 5, 6}, then the union of A and B is {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, since these are all the elements that are in either A or B. We can write this as A ∪ B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}.”

Factorial

FactorialPin

–  Read as: Factorial

– Example:  “5! (read as “5 factorial”) is equal to 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1, which is equal to 120.”

Therefore

ThereforePin

–  Read as: Therefore

– Example: “If a triangle has two sides of equal length and the angles opposite those sides are also equal, therefore the triangle is isosceles.” 

Square root

Square rootPin

–  Read as: Square root of

– Example: “The square root of 9 is 3, because 3 x 3 = 9.”(√9=3)

Perpendicular

PerpendicularPin

–  Read as: Is perpendicular to

– Example: “The diagonals of a square, which are perpendicular to each other and bisect each other.”

Exists

ExistsPin

–  Read as: Exists

– Example:  “If we say that “there exists a real number x such that x² + 1 = 0,” we mean that there is at least one real number that satisfies this equation.”

Percent

PercentPin

–  Read as: Percent

– Example: “If we want to calculate what 15% of 80 is, we can write it as 15% × 80 = 0.15 × 80 = 12. This means that 15% of 80 is equal to 12.”

Line

LinePin

–  Read as: Line AB

– Example: “If we have two points A and B on a line, we can refer to the line that passes through them as line AB. We can write this using the symbol for a line as AB.”

Line segment

Line segmentPin

–  Read as: Segment AB

– Example: “If we have two points A and B and we want to refer to the line segment that goes from A to B, we can call it segment AB.”

Ray

RayPin

–  Read as: Ray AB

– Example: “If we have a point A and a point B on a line such that B is on the ray that extends from A, we can refer to the ray as ray AB.”

Right angle

Right anglePin

–  Read as: Right angle

– Example: “If we have a square, each of its four corners forms a right angle, and we can represent each of these angles using the symbol ⊾.”

Angle

AnglePin

–  Read as: Angle

– Example: “If we have two intersecting lines, the angle formed by the two lines can be represented using the symbol ∠ABC, where A and C are points on one line and B is the vertex of the angle.”

Summation

SummationPin

–  Read as: Sum ofSigma

– Example: “The sum of 3 and 5 is 8, which we can write as 3 + 5 = 8.” (Σ(3, 5)=8)

Braces (grouping)

Braces (grouping)Pin

–  Read as: Braces

– Example: “If we want to represent the set of all even numbers between 1 and 10, we can write it as {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}, using braces to group together the elements of the set.”

Brackets

BracketsPin

–  Read as: Brackets

– Example:  “If we want to distribute the factor 3 to the sum of 4 and 2, we can write it as 3[4 + 2], which means 3 times the sum of 4 and 2.”

Parentheses (grouping)

Parentheses (grouping)Pin

–  Read as: Parentheses

Example: “If we want to calculate the value of 4 plus 2 times 3, we can write it as 4 + (2 × 3), which means 2 times 3 is calculated first, and then the result is added to 4.”

Learn more how and when to use Parentheses () Brackets [] in English.

Practice here: Math symbols Worksheets

Mathematical Symbols List | Video

Learn useful math symbols with American English pronunciation.